Del Negro still waiting for perfect attendance at practice

With two underwhelming preseason performances in the books, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is getting anxious to have a his full team available at practice.

It didn't happen Monday.

Center Joakim Noah was back on the floor, wearing protective goggles, after 10 days off with an eye injury. But Ben Gordon (jammed toe) and Michael Ruffin (ankle) are still out, while rookie Derrick Rose was excused because of the death of an uncle. Rose is expected to play tonight when the Bulls host Minnesota at the United Center.

"The sooner we can get everybody on the court, the more productive we'll be," Del Negro said. "Time will tell how it will all evolve and it's going to take time. Patience is something I'm not great about and I know everyone else isn't. We have a young team and sometimes the development process takes longer than you'd like."

Gordon was hoping to be back by now. Between missing the first two days of camp to get his contract settled and the toe injury, Gordon has missed much of the introduction to Del Negro's system.

"I won't be behind," Gordon said. "I've been paying attention in practice, so I'll be fine. It's getting better. Whenever it stops hurting, that's when I'll come back."

Chapu feeling pain: Playing for Argentina's Olympic team took a toll on Andres Nocioni. He hasn't skipped any practices since training camp began, but he's been playing through soreness in his knees.

In the last three games of the Olympics, Nocioni was hobbled by tendinitis in his right knee, but he says the current situation is unrelated.

"I'm not feeling in my best shape right now, but I'm all right," Nocioni said. "It's just tight from training camp. We've been working really hard and I was just doing rehab for my knee, so I wasn't working out a lot before the training camp. Right now, I feel a little bit of pain in my knees, but I'm going to be all right."

Nocioni is off to a slow start in preseason, scoring just 2 points in 17 minutes of action, with 4 fouls and 4 turnovers.

"He's not real healthy right now," Vinny Del Negro said. "From the Olympics, he was worn down, then he got hurt a little bit. We're trying to get him back in the flow, but physically he's not great."

Bull horns: The Bulls made a $600,000 donation Monday to the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club on Chicago's West Side. ... Minnesota is 2-1 in preseason, with rookie forward Kevin Love averaging 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds.